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Quote of the Day:

It is not length of life, but depth of life.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
May 08

UC Davis Talk

UC Davis 1 Comment »

As memtioned, I gave a presentation at the May Meeting of the UC Davis Brain Tumor Group. The subject was using iPhone apps to help manage treatment. The following videos capture the presentation if you care to watch. There is a 10 min limit with youtube so I cut it up into 3 segments – approximately 5-8 mins long each.

Also, keep in mind this is far from a professional film production! I had a podium, a PowerPoint presentation being projected on to a large screen and no mic. One annoyance is there are times when I move out of the picture to clarify items on the slides but the camera doesn’t follow – it would have been too disruptive to do so. The objective was to connect and present the information, not film it. Nonetheless, you’ll still glean most everything as if [...] Continue Reading…

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May 05

UC Davis Info

Blog, UC Davis No Comments »

I’ve received a number of requests for more info regarding tomorrow night’s meeting.  Here is a PDF w/ info.  Thanks for your support!  It should be a fun night.

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May 04

Temodar and Getaway

Medical Updates, Support 1 Comment »

My temodar treatment has been going well.  I have some nausea in the morning and use zofran for that but things are good.  More pressing is my left arm and shoulder. 

Essentially the muscles in my shoulder, bicep,  forearm and sometimes wrist/hand contract and tighten up involuntarily sometimes.  This just freezes it all up.  Because this has happened so many times, on top of seizures, a few falls and new lesions – the pain is terrible while under this tension.  I have an appointment later this month wiyj a nuerologist who injects Botox into the muscles in these cases to loosen them up.  Hopefully that will quell this pain.  I have another appointment next Monday for Avastin. 

IF you’re in the Sacramento, CA area, I’ll be speaking at UC Davis on Thursday night at 6:30pm at the brain tumor monthly meeting.  Use the contact form if you’d like information.

We were [...] Continue Reading…

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Apr 26

Starting Temodar Chemo Tonight

Chemotherapy 3 Comments »

A quick update – heading downtown shortly for my first avastin infusion in about 6 weeks.  We waited until we finished the 6 weeks of vaccine injections.  Tonight I will start on temodar for 21 days straight then a 7 day break. Then I’ll go back on for 21 days and so on. 

Please pray that this treatment slows growth and that it doesn’t impact my immune system too much.  You might recall that I did 8 rounds in 2007 and finally came off because my WBC was too low and wouldn’t recover.  Strength in numbers.  I sincerely appreciate it!

A dear friend gave this to Rachael and I.  I wanted to share it with everyone.  A great reminder!

Are you passing through a testing.
Is your pillow wet with tears?
Do you wonder what the reason,
Why it seems God never hears?
 
Why it is you have no answer
To your oft-repeated plea,
Why the [...] Continue Reading…

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Apr 24

Cards for Tomorrow

Family, My Story 3 Comments »

We still pray daily for healing and we all pray for what we believe is the best plan in life for us.  However, no one really knows.  Do you?  I don’t.  What I do know is we all have purpose and because I am faced with this, my focus lately has been on finding ways to pass on memories and ideals to my family.  Videos for the boys will be great of course.  This is my first idea though and will be the gift that keeps giving.

I’ve not resigned myself to death here!  So don’t get the wrong idea.  I’ve dusted off my pants and am ready for whatever is next but what I have is now and I’m getting this done. 

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Apr 22

Treatment Plan

Brain Tumor Treatment, Chemotherapy 1 Comment »

After a long discussion at the Neuroscience Institute this morning, we have decided to go back to Avastin as the staple and use a rotating system of an additional drug month to month that will be switched out potentially – depending upon how I’m doing. For starters I will go back on Temodar. 21 days on, 7 days off with IV Avastin every other week. Temodar can be switched out for VP-16, Carboplatin or a host of other drugs. These are viable options that we think a) strike a good balance between quality of life and length of life, b) provide freedom in making choices to fold in other medications and c) hopefully provides us with a window of time to research and find a trial/treatment that is worthwhile pursuing. Even trials have drawbacks – the most significant of which to as a patient is the acceptance [...] Continue Reading…

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Apr 21

Great Verse

Christianity No Comments »

Max Lucado’s writings are amazing. He is just real and down to earth. The following is a great example. This is an excerpt from a devotional called “Yea, Though I Walk Through The Valley of the Shadow of Death”

John 14:1-3

Don’t let your heart be troubled
Trust in God, and trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a room for you. After, I wiil come back and take you to be with me so that you may be wher I am.

What kind of statement is that? Trust me with your death. When you face the tomb, don’t be troubled! You get the impression that to God the grave is a no-brainer. He speaks as casually as the mechanic who says to a worried customer, “sure, the [...] Continue Reading…

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Apr 20

MRI Results – April 20 2010

Medical Updates 7 Comments »

I spoke with my neuro-oncologist last night after leaving a message for her. I always ask for a CD with all of the images and know enough to be dangerous. I certainly know enough to catch certain things and I called her after seeing a particular area that looked like a new tumor.

Two new tumors! Sheesh. Come on now. When it rains it pours. When it pours, get a larger umbrella, right? Still. VERY disheartening and disappointing – Rach and I had a tough night.

There is progression with what was a small area to what is now a lesion measuring 4.5 cm by 3.1 cm by 4.6 cm. Particularly troubling to me is that there is increased involvement of the left corpus callosum. If it jumps to the left hemisphere then I can start having deficits on the right side of my body.

This behavior, not to sound unemotional [...] Continue Reading…

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